When Jesus called Simon to be his first apostle, he changed his name to Peter. On Sunday, Lutheran Bishop Tracie Bartholomew will call Pastor Rose Beeson "Peter" for the first time in what will be a historic "renaming ceremony" at St. Matthew Trinity Lutheran Church in Hoboken. Since last summer, Beeson has been transitioning from woman to man and has shared this process with a supportive parish community. "This a wonderful day in the life of this radically inclusive community," said Mark Singleton, a 21-year member of the church who was on the committee to call Beeson to pastor St. Matthew Trinity

Comments:Are there enough worshippers of mental illness to keep the pews filled? A "For Sale" sign in the future will tell the tale; maybe a new radically inclusive mosque will take its place.

Apparently, the Lutherans (ELCA we presume) are in a headlong race for worst apostasy and heresy with the United Methodists, Disciples of Christ, and American Baptists. Not a race you should want to win.Somehow, I doubt that Luther would be pleased.And pleasing the Lord seems to be the least of their concerns. "Depart from Me, I never knew you" is in their future.

#1,#2,#6,#9- With all due respect, such a blanket statement about the Lutheran Church is most unfortunate and inaccurate. Indeed, the ELCA has gone off the rails as evidenced by the formation of a new synod, the NALC (North American Lutheran Church) constituted on August 27, 2010 due to the ELCA’s “shift in policy toward homosexual members and clergy. The NALC regarded the shift as being unbiblical and symptomatic of growing liberalism of ELCA.”

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) accept and preach Scripture-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation: “Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone.”Scripture is very clear about “false teachers” – “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” (James 3:1)

I´m guessing that the pews are filled with gays, transgenders, their poor children, and a few older parishioners who are staying because they´ve attended their entire lives. Not exactly a sustaining congregation.

And that idiot episcopal ´priest´ in Washington was on Tucker Carlson last week and showed his lack of knowledge of the Bible, at least Genesis 2.His entire non-gendering of G-d was based upon his mistake.

If I were a Bible-believing Lutheran, I would get out of any of its denominational churches until they changed their name and became distinct. Hard to figure out who´s who when they all call themselves Lutheran. Agreed, this is a perversion and will catch up with this woman/man/whatever. "Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean and I will welcome you" (2 Cor. 6:17)It always baffles me why people who don´t believe what the Scripture teaches insist on playing church and pretending. It´s a schizo way to live. Then again, there´s a lot of money in those places.

#11/13 – Thank you for the explanation of the various synods under the Lutheran label. I understand your pain with brethren who are unable to accept basic truths and choose instead to break away and reform.

Respectfully, I do have a question about Lutheran doctrine. I’m a bit confused by your quote, “Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone.” You listed three things that are “alone”. How can all three be “alone”?

#23- With all due respect, abandoning Lutheranism is not an option for believers of Scripture-based teaching. Much like President Trump is doing to right the wrongs of left-wing decadent governance, believing Lutherans who are members of Scripture-based teaching synods need to pray for errant Lutherans and challenge false teachings within Lutheranism while providing a safe haven for Lutherans recognizing and rejecting false teachings. Catholics would not abandon their “denomination” to become separate and distinct. Ultimately, true believers constitute the Church on earth. Our Lord assures believers that “…the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Church).”(Matthew16:18)

#24: "alone" has a specific meaning.Faith alone means faith not dependent on or supplemental to good works. See Romans 3 for a description of what faith means. "Abraham believed G-d, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."Scripture alone means not dependent on any writings other than the ones in Scripture. In other words, what the Pope says has no bearing.Grace alone means we can do nothing to deserve salvation. Salvation is utterly dependent on the work of G-d. It cannot be earned or bought."alone" means not mixed with any other operative force.See the Formula of Concord for details.These three pillars were insisted on by Luther.And they were based on years of reverent study of Scripture.

I´m glad to get some clarity on which Synod allowed this to happen. I was raised in the Missouri Synod (Parochial school for 8 grades) and I have always known them to be the strictest of the Synods. I don´t think Lutherans should jump ship just because of this one Rogue church and Minister. Catholics have held firm while their Pastors molested little boys. They also have become more and more lenient on Gay Marriage. I think we all need to just hold firm in our beliefs and let the chips fall where they may. We can choose which Church to attend, so we do not have to support this Pastor who is giving all Lutherans a bad name! God will decide who is right!

I am LC Missouri Synod and joined because this type of hipster nonsense drove me from the Episcopal Church. There is no reason that a person at odds with reality cannot join a church, including a congregation that wishes to be taken seriously. There is, however, an obvious imperative that such a person not act as a leader of that church. Inclusiveness doesn’t mean collective mental illness. This leads to things like the New Hope Methodist Church becoming Marsha Brown’s Creole Restaurant complete with ironic stained glass windows of biblical stories next door to the Wiccan shop and the tattoo parlor.

#24- #32 is correct. St. Paul makes it easy to understand “Sola gratia,Sola fide,Sola scriptura” in the words of Ephesians2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” God’s mercy is generous toward the undeserving.(Romans5:12-21) Grace “is like the benefit of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, which is not a work, but a treasure included in the Word. It is offered to us and received by faith.”

Through faith, God’s gift, is the opposite of works and sight; a trust in God’s gifts, now and to come. (Luke 7:50, Romans 1:17, Galatians 2:16).

Salvation is not the result of works: “Neither Jews who obey the Torah, nor Gentiles who heed their conscience, may claim a reward from God (Romans 3:19-31). Ultimately, “Christ’s merit is obtained not by our works or pennies, but from grace through faith, without money and merit.”

The Holy Bible – “Whoever believes and holds to Christ’s Word, heaven stands open to him, hell is shut, the devil is imprisoned, sins are forgiven, and he is a child of eternal life. That is what this book teaches you—the Holy Scripture—and no other book on earth.” Martin Luther (WA 48:155)

This is disrespectful to the One who created the two sexes.The hubris of one who would claim that God made a mistake that needs corrected by His creation is blasphemy of the highest order.She obviously sees herself as superior to God and on a mission to correct his failings.Any church that embraces this is not a church of God.

#32 – Thank you for answering my question. You clarified the issue for me.

#33 – “They also have become more and more lenient on Gay Marriage.” It was unclear if you were referring the Lutherans or the Catholics. The Catholic Church has not changed its prohibition against gender-neutral “marriages”. Practicing Catholics who are homosexual or lesbian are called to chastity as are single heterosexuals. There are many special ministries available to those who live with such temptations.

#37,38,39 – Thank you, as always, for the Scripture quotes. Catholics also believe that salvation is a Grace Gift from God, totally outside any effort of ours. Although it is a common misconception Catholics do not believe that our works will save us but, just like the fig tree we will be known by our fruits. We are commanded by Christ to be His hands and feet in the world. We do believe that Scripture without Tradition to guide interpretation can lead believers into dangerous waters. Oral Tradition was the basis of Christian belief before The Bible was assembled in the 4th century. The Pope is infallible in only matters of faith and morals. The last papal bull on dogma was in 1854, when the Church formalized the teaching on the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Infallible papal declarations are very rare.

#42- “Judge, cast first stone.” When a believer falls into sin, believers are to try to encourage the sinner to examine the fault.(Matthew 18:15-20) Rather than being judgmental, the attempt is more like compassion that would impel a medical professional to care for an injured person. Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven to the Apostles (clergy) to forgive or refuse to forgive sins(Matthew 16:19). Believers need to pray for sinners who show no concern for their souls, and work to win them back so they will not be lost forever.

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